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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. H. BISHOP & W. DOWN. REOEPTAGLE FOR cums.

No. 494,781. Patented Apr. 4, 1893.

fiir zessem (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. R. H. BISHOP 81; W. DOWN. REUEPTAGLE FOR UOINS Patented Apr. 4, 1893.

Flcfi.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT H. BISHOP AND WILLIAM DOWN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO THE GENERAL PATENTS COMPANY, LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

RECEPTACLE FOR COINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 494,731, dated April 4, 1893.

- Application filed May 25 1892. Serial No. 434,243- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT HODGES BISHOP, commission agent, of 7 Gibson Square, Islington, London, and WILLIAM DOWN,

draftsman, of 2S Archway Road, Highgate,

London, county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Receptacles for Coins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to receptacles which are intended to receive a certain number of a special coin before they can be opened, and the invention consists in a novel construction of such receptacles, whereby the number of the coins to be inserted may be varied at will within certain limits.

In carrying out this invention we employ say an oblong metal box, in the lid of which we place the locking mechanism which is carried by a back plate secured to the lid. We form in the lid (say, toward one end or side) a hole of the particular size for the insertion of the coin, say, a threepenny bit,a six pence, a shilling, or otherwise. The back plate is formed with a corresponding hole situated to one side of the hole in the lid, and it is secured to the lid at such a distance therefrom as to allow of a pusher or reciprocating plate sliding between them. This pusher has a hole of the size of the coin, and should be of a thickness corresponding to that of the coin, so that when the hole is opposite the hole in the lid, the coin can be inserted therein, and will slide freely between the lid and the base plate. The pusher is provided with a shoulder which strikes against a spring tumbler secured to the base plate, which tumbler limits the travel of the pusher when there is no coin, and thus prevents the working of the unlocking mechanism until a coin has beeninserted. The tumbler is pushed on one side by the coin when in place,and the pushercan then travel to its full extent, to bring the coin opposite the hole in the base plate, through which it will drop into the box. The pusher is moved by means of preferably an integral part thereof which is turned up and projects through a slot in the lid, and a second and it may be integral part projects downward through a slot in the base plate, and actuates what we may term a counting mechanism. This mechanism consists of a ratchet and pawl arrangement, the pawl being on the pusher plate, and taking into a ratchet wheel attached to a dial, when the pusher is slid forward. In connection with the dial is a disk, with a notch at one portion of its circumference. This disk, in conjunction with a spring catch in the box, forms the lock mechanism, and the disk must be rotated until the notch is brought 6o opposite the catch, in order to open the box. The position of the notch in the disk with respect to the catch, will be adjusted according to the number of the coins it is desired to insert before the box can be opened.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a metal box or receptacle intended to receive pennies to the number of sixty. .Fig. 2 is a side elevation, and Fig. 3 is an end view, (partly in section,) of the same; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the inside of the lid, and showing the locking mechanism. Fig.

5 is a plan view of a box suitable for carrying in the pocket, and intended to receive small coin, say, sixpenny pieces, to the number of forty. Fig.6isasideview. Fig.7isacrosssection on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5. Fig.8 isa plan view of the inside of the lid, showing the looking mechanism of the box shown in Figs. 5, 6,

7; and Fig. 9 is a plan view of the coin-receiv- 8o ing and locking mechanism taken from the box last mentioned.

In all these figures, a is the metal body of the box, which may be of any shape or size, and a is the lid in which is placed the locking mechanism carried by a back or base plate Z), which is to be secured to thelid by screws, rivets or in any other convenient manner. A hole 0 is formed in the lid of the size of the coins the box is intended to receive. The plate I) is cut away as at d, (Fig. 9) to allow for communication with the interior of the box when the lid is closed and locked.

Between the lid and the plate I) is the pusher e which consists of a reciprocating plate ar- 5 ranged to work either in the arc of a circle, on a pivot pin, as indicated by dotted lines at Figs. 1 and 4, or parallel with the sides of the box, in guides on the plate b, as indicated at Figs. 5, 8, and 9.

The pusher or reciprocating plate 6, which is of a thickness corresponding to that of the coin, has a hole formed therein, of the size of the coin for which the box is constructed. This hole is formed toward one corner of the plate e, and a portion of the edge of the said plate is cut away, when making the hole so as to leave a shoulder e, which, as the pusher is advanced, strikes against a spring or stop f secured to the plate I). This stop, therefore, limits the travel of the pusher e,and prevents the working of the unlocking mechanism until acoin has been inserted in the hole. When this has been done, the coin (as the pusher e is advanced) will strike against the tooth on the end of the stop f, and push it aside, so that the pusher 6 will be free to travel to its full extent, in order to pass the coin into the box through the opening d in the plate Z). The pusher 6 may be operated by means of a pin e projecting through a slot e in the lid. As the pusher 6 moves beyond the stop f it operates a toothed wheel 9 (Figs. 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9) mounted below the plate I) on a stud pin, by means of apawl h. This pawl It may be attached to a bar 77. sliding in guides 72. on the under side of the plate and actuated by a pin projecting from the pusher through the plate 1) into a hole in the bar (see Fig. 4), or it may be formed with the plate, as seen at Figs. 8 and 9. Each movement of the wheel g may be visible from the outside through openings in both the plate I) and the lid of the box as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 where the wheel is visible through a small opening g in the plate I). The wheel g carries a disk i having a notch i in its edge. This disk 1; with a spring catch secured to the side of the box (see Figs. 3 and 7) and engaging with the edge of said disk as shown in Fig. 3, forms the lock mechanism. The notch c" in the disk is just wide enough to receive the spring catch which by its elasticity drops into the said notch when the latter comes opposite to it and so allows the lid of the box to be raised for the purpose of reaching the contents of the latter. The remainder of the circumference sponding with the largest number of coins that the box is ever to receive. In Fig. 4 this number is shown to be sixty and the divisions are numbered on the disk from O to 60, the numbers running forward in the direction in which the disk is to be rotated. The wheel 9 has a number of equally spaced teeth equal to the said number of divisions on the disk and one or more according to the width of the notch t" in the disk, the number of teeth in the example shown in Fig. 4 being sixty-two because the notch t" is equ alto two teeth. The

numbers are so arranged relatively to the opening g in the plate I) that when the notch t" is opposite the catch 75, the 0 mark on the wheel 9 is opposite the said opening.

m is aspring retaining catch secured to the lid and which takes into a deep notch in the wheel g and stops the rotation of the latter when the notch t" is opposite the catch it.

Before closing the box the wheel g and disk i are set by pushing back the spring retaining catch on and turning the disk and wheel to bring opposite to the hole g the number indicating the number of coins to be deposited in the box before opening.

To close the box pressure is applied to the lid and the spring catch slips over the rim of the disk thereby holding the box securely locked.

Every time a coin is dropped into the box by moving the pusher c the wheel gis moved one tooth and when the desired number of coins have been inserted the notch t" of the disk 7; arrives opposite the catch is and unlocks the box.

To prevent the fraudulent operation of the unlocking mechanism, by retaining a coin in the hole of the pusher plate 6 when the box is turned upside down,'and thereby operatihg the toothed wheel and the locking disk without the coin passing into the box, we provide means whereby the coin, as it is pushed in by the pusher plate 6, is forced out of the hole in the plate, so that when the plate is drawn back, it will pass under the coin. The means we employ consist of a small wedge piece or projection Z, attached to, or formed in'the lid of the box (or it may be a small spring riveted to the box lid), of a depth slightly greater than the thickness of the coin and the pusher plate. When the box is turned upside down, the coin will ride over this piece, and will be raised out of the hole in the plate, so as to be clear of the plate on its return movement.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we would remark that we do not intend to confine ourselves to the exact mechanical details described, as these may be more or less modified without departing from our invention, but

of the disk not occupied by the notch 2" is divided into a number of equal parts corre- We declare that what we claim is- 1. The combination in a coin receptacle, of a box, a lid for said box having a hole for a coin, a back plate secured to the lid, a looking catch attached to the receptacle for looking the lid, a reciprocating plate of the thickness of the coin placed between the said plate and the lid and having a coin-receiving recess from which the coin may project beyond one of its edges, a spring stop for said plate to be pushed aside by a so projecting coin, a toothed and notched locking disk pivoted to said plate for engaging with the said locking catch, a pawl attached to the recip rocating plate for engaging with the teeth on the disk for turning the latter and a retaining catch for engaging with said disk for arresting the same in a given position, substantially as herein set forth.

IIO

2. The combination in a coin receptac1e,of a box, a lid having a hole for a coin, a looking catch Within the box for locking the lid, a locking disk pivoted to the lid and having a notch in its edge to receive said catch, a reciprocating coin-receiving plate and means of producing the step by step rotation of said disk by the movement of the reciprocating plate for bringing the notch in the locking disk opposite to the locking catch,substan- IO tialiy as herein set forth.

London, May 12, 1892.

ROBERT H. BISHOP. WILLIAM DOWN.

Witnesses:

H. K. WHITE, A. W. SPAOKMAN. 

